Alert The Fam Jam! Grease Live To Air On Fox On Sunday

January 31, 2016 by Masterclass Lady 5 Comments


  

Picture Credit: FOX

Finally!  Quality live programming on a Sunday night in January!  

With the cooler temps outside, you have a reason to stay inside when Fox airs its first live musical, Grease, on Sunday, January 31st at 7:00 PM/6:00 PM Central. 

This is such a great musical. I have seen it several times and performed the music numerous times with my choir and singers.  It never gets old. Never!  

Many of you remember the film version with John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John, captivating audiences in the starring roles of Danny and Sandy respectively.  

The musical, however, originated on Broadway and is, in fact, very different from the screen version. The characters in the stage version are raunchier, aggressive and not made for prime-time TV, so I hope that the producers realized this when they decided to create this live TV event.  The overall content can be diluted with very little effort while preserving the energetic and fun-loving nature of the musical. 

This live Grease event stars Julianne Hough as Sandy and Aaron Tveit as Danny. Here is the official news release from Fox:

“FOX enrolls at Rydell High with GREASE: LIVE, a LIVE one-night musical production of the massively popular crossover musical “Grease.”

GREASE: LIVE stars Julianne Hough (“Safe Haven,” “Rock of Ages”) as the angelic “Sandy” – Rydell High’s most talked-about newcomer – and Aaron Tveit (“Graceland,” “Les Miserables”) as bad boy “Danny Zuko,” Also tapped to star are Vanessa Hudgens (Broadway’s “Gigi,” “Spring Breakers”) as iconic bad girl “Rizzo,” Keke Palmer (SCREAM QUEENS, “Masters of Sex”) as the sassy Pink Lady “Marty Maraschino” and Carlos PenaVega (“Big Time Rush”) as “Kenickie,” Danny’s tough-guy sidekick.

Featuring a young ensemble cast, GREASE: LIVE will reintroduce and reimagine some of the show’s most memorable moments, great music and timeless love story to an entirely new generation. In this live television adaptation of the musical classic, the beginning of senior year means the end of Danny and Sandy’s summer romance – until Sandy unexpectedly transfers to Danny’s high school. Can Danny maintain his bad-boy image as the coolest member of the T-Birds, once he and Sandy start going together, and can Sandy remain a good girl after she joins the Pink Ladies? With their friends Rizzo and Kenickie pulling them in different directions, it’s up to Danny and Sandy to stay hopelessly devoted as they make their way from Rydell High to a new frontier.”

A CD featuring the songs from Grease is available on iTUNES. 

Are you tuning in? Share your personal “Grease” experience in the comments below.  Go Grease Lightning!

Broadway, Entertainment, Singing, Television
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About Masterclass Lady

Rosanne (Giallonardo) Simunovic began her musical career in Timmins, Ontario. She studied piano with Anne Pizzale and later, at an advanced level, with Soeur Anita Vaugeois (Sister Cecile of Les Soeurs De L’Assomption in Timmins). Her vocal and accompaniment skills were nurtured by her aunt, the late Dorothea Mascioli. When Rosanne graduated from O’Gorman High School, she moved on to the University of Toronto where she continued her piano and vocal studies while attaining a Bachelor of Arts Degree. She was hired as a piano accompanist for several musical companies, most notably, the National Ballet Of Canada. She presently holds an A.R.C.T. Teacher’s Diploma in Voice from the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. Rosanne has studied choral conducting with numerous well known Canadian Conductors, including Wayne Riddell of Montreal, Quebec and the internationally renowned Dr. Elmer Iseler. She has been a founding member of numerous community-based arts organizations: the Timmins Arts Council, later known as Arts & Culture Timmins, the Timmins Symphony Orchestra, and, the Timmins Youth Singers…as well as the TYS Alumnus choir, the Timmins Concert Singers. In 1987, she was also selected to be the conductor of the Timmins Board Of Education Choir, comprised of talented students from Grades 5 to 8. In 1988, she was elected to the Board Of Directors of the Ontario Choral Federation (now known as Choirs Ontario), where she served as Chair of the Festivals Committee for six consecutive seasons. In 1996, in honour of the Ontario Choral Federation’s 25th Anniversary, Rosanne was selected as one of 25 recipients of the OCF’s Distinguished Service Award for outstanding contribution to the choral art. The ceremony was presided by Lieutenant Governor, Hal Jackman. In November 1997, Rosanne Simunovic was selected by the Rotary Club Of Timmins to receive the prestigious Paul Harris Award for her years of dedication to the artistic development of young musical talent in Timmins. In August of 2002, Rosanne Simunovic was selected by the Board Of Directors of Choirs Ontario to serve as Conductor of both the Provincial Junior and Teen Choir Camps, now renamed in honour of the Camp Benefactors, Don and Lillian Wright. In November 2002, Rosanne was the one of the recipients of the Commemorative Medal for the Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II, honouring her work in the development of the arts in Timmins. Under Rosanne Simunovic’s direction, the Timmins Youth Singers and the Timmins Concert Singers have been featured in numerous choral festivals and performing opportunities outside of Timmins. In 1985, they were selected to partici
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5 Responses to “Alert The Fam Jam! Grease Live To Air On Fox On Sunday”

  1. Gene W January 31, 2016 at 5:59 pm

    Don’t tell anybody, but I’ve been looking forward to watching Grease tonight.

    Julianne Hough staring as Sandy got my attention. I like her from her time on DWTS, which she left to become a singer. While I prefer her as a dancer to a singer, I believe she should be good in this roll, at least as I know it from the movie version.

    You mentioned in your piece that Carlos PenaVega is also in the cast. He and his wife Alexa competed against one another on Dancing With The Stars last season and not only did he prove to be a talented dancer but also a fine young man who is devoted to his lovely wife.

    Should be a good show,

    Like

  2. peggyfromporcupine January 31, 2016 at 11:47 pm

    Well, was it up to your expectations?

    I saw it in a theatre in London, England, in 1973. A friend from Canada was visiting me with her niece (yes, I was living and working in London at the time.) The niece (& I) loved it but the aunt wasn’t too sure it was appropriate for the teenager. Times sure have changed.

    Liked by 1 person

  3. Kariann Hart (@KariannHart) February 1, 2016 at 12:37 am

    “Grease” is one of my favorite movies ever! This TV production did not disappoint. Julianne Hough did a nice job as Sandy and showed talent when compared to Olivia Newton-John. Olivia is a better singer; Julianne is the better dancer. Aaron Tveit is so attractive, good dancer, and sweet singer; however he lacks the “attitude” that John Travolta possessed. As long as you haven’t seen the film presentation of Grease, this will do just fine.

    The three gentlemen portraying the Angels fell short when compared to Frankie Avalon coming down those steps. Frankie really seemed to care about Frenchy. Yet, I can’t fault the producers for making the changes they did. I would definitely watch a repeat of this production. It’s still fun!

    Liked by 2 people

  4. Gene W February 1, 2016 at 3:26 pm

    Pulling this off as a live TV production was pretty incredible.

    I agree with Kariann’s comparison of the movie cast to this cast. Julianne in particular had a tough task to sing this iconic songs in a way that was true to the audiences memory of them and remain the girl from Salt Lake City instead of the girl from down under. Her “Hopelessly Devoted” had a little bit of an Aussie flavor to it in the beginning and smoothed out into more of a girl from Utah before she was done. She conveyed the emotion of the song well and I quickly put her singing limitations out of my mind and enjoined the number quite a bit.

    The whole cast did a great job with the “You Better Shape Up” number at the end even though Travolta’s version will remain the more memorable performance. I’m not sure, but the choreography was probably step for step with the movie version. Anyone know about that?

    Liked by 2 people

  5. Masterclass Lady February 1, 2016 at 11:44 pm

    Thanks for your comments one and all. This production was amazing. I have added another topic addressing it. Glad you watched and enjoyed it. So much work and preparation went in to this show. Unbelievable.

    Like

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